Reducing hotel employee turnover intention by promoting pride in job and meaning of work: A cross-cultural perspective

Characterizing with an image of low-skilled jobs and low social status, the hotel industry is undergoing a “great resignation” from staff due to stress post-Covid-19, urging a need to encourage hotel employees to stay with their jobs. This study attempted to explore whether employees’ turnover intention was decreased by promoting their pride in jobs and how job pride was predicted by dimensions of the meaning of work. Two online surveys were conducted on American and Vietnamese hotel employees. A structural equation modeling analysis revealed that work centrality, obligation norms, and work values positively affected job pride which subsequently reduced turnover intention. The study also showed the negative relationship between job pride and turnover intention was only significant for Americans, confirming the culture’s moderation role. The findings provide valuable theoretical contributions regarding employees’ behavioral intention from a multicultural perspective and managerial implications for hoteliers in human resources management practices.